Connecticut Banking 3Q 2019

Third Quarter 2019

CBA WELCOMES FIRST FEMALE CHAIR

CYNTHIA MERKLE

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Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

CONNECTICUT BANKERS ASSOCIATION

10 Waterside Dr. Farmington, CT 06032-3083 Telephone: 860-677-5060 • Fax: 860-677-5066

COVER STORY

CBA Welcomes First Female Chair Cynthia Merkle.............. 16 Chair

Cynthia C. Merkle President and CEO Union Savings Bank First Vice Chair

Michael J. LaBella Market President, Connecticut, TD Bank, N.A. Second Vice Chair

Timothy P. Geelan President & CEO Guilford Savings Bank President & CEO

Page 4

Thomas S. Mongellow

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Vice President & Counsel

FEATURES

First Senior Vice President & Secretary

10 Best Practices To Implement Now To Avoid Wire Fraud At Your Bank............................................. 4

Arthur T. Corey

Colleen E. Clancy

Assistant Vice President

Updating the Compensation Conversation............................. 6

Kimberly M. Tuttle

SEP Plans: Another Connection to Small Employers............................................................... 8 The Compensation Committee Agenda for 2019................. 10 Connecticut Banking is an official publication of the Connecticut Bankers Association and is published quarterly by

Fulfilling Your SAR Filing Requirements............................... 15 Connecticut School of Finance & Management .................. 20

The Warren Group

2 Corporation Way, Suite 250 Peabody, Massachusetts 01960 www.thewarrengroup.com Design / Production / Advertising custompubs@thewarrengroup.com With the exception of official association announcements, the Connecticut Bankers Association and The Warren Group disclaim responsibility for opinions expressed in Connecticut Banking. This publication is intended and designed to provide accurate and authoritative information, not to provide legal, accounting or other professional advice.

CONNECTICUT BANKING Editor

Karen Horanzy

©2019 The Warren Group Inc. All rights reserved. The Warren

Group is a trademark of The Warren Group Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Advertising, editorial and production inquiries should be directed to: The Warren Group, The Warren Group 2 Corporation Way, Suite 250, Peabody, Massachusetts 01960. Call 800-356-8805.

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CBA Calendar................................................................ 5 Bankers in the News .................................................... 22 Associate Members in the News .................................. 23 Banks in the News........................................................ 24 3

Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

10

BEST PRACTICES to implement now TO AVOID WIRE FRAUD AT YOUR BANK

Wire Fraud involving bank customers is exploding! The 2017 ABA Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report* found that bank deposit accounts are the targets of over $1 billion in wire fraud attacks annually. It is insufficient to rely upon insurance to make you and your customers whole as insurance will not cover 100% of wire fraud incidents or 100% of every wire fraud loss. Further, insurance carriers expect banks to exercise a minimum level of due care to prevent any crime, including wire fraud crime. Frontline personnel are in the best position to both spot and prevent wire fraud; therefore, it is critical that banks undertake these best practices.

1. TRAIN EMPLOYEES TO IDENTIFY PHISHING EMAILS Phishing scams are the initiation point to many wire fraud crimes involving the bank’s money. In a phishing scam, an employee opens an email containing malware that allows the fraudster to infiltrate the employee’s computer. This access results in a fraudulent wire transfer request via a social engineering scheme. For example: •

•

first wire transfer request in order to avoid any confusion about their wishes. The agreement should:

A senior executive’s email account is taken over through malware installed by a successful phishing attack, allowing the fraudster to initiate a seemingly internal request to wire bank funds to a fake vendor.

A loan officer responsible for approving HELOC transfers was phished. The perpetrator used his access to the loan officer’s computer to create both fraudulent customer transfer requests and bank approvals based on accurate banking information found in the employee’s email history.

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Include the customer’s explicit authorization for the bank to execute wires, and the means by which wire transfer requests may be requested (e.g., via email, telephone, or in person);

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Contain the names of all individuals granted authority by the customer to initiate such requests; and

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Outline a commercially reasonable security procedure that will be utilized by the bank and the customer to authenticate all requests.

Please note that a wire request–a form completed by the customer to initiate a specific wire transfer–is not the same as a written agreement. The absence of a written agreement will likely result in a claim denial with many insurance carriers.

To reinforce the training, test your employees’ ability to identify phishing scams through simulated attacks. This will help them— and your bank—avoid becoming a phishing victim.

4. PERFORM A CALLBACK ON WIRES TO A PREDETERMINED NUMBER TO AUTHENTICATE WIRE REQUESTS While some insurance policies allow variations in authentication procedures, a phone call to the customer’s number on file is still one of the best ways to prevent fraud. It is much easier for a fraudster to take over email addresses than phone numbers; however, this method is not foolproof, so be sure to review the account for any phone number or named individual changes within the past year.

Legitimate changes to established wiring authorization instructions are rare–assume fraud if recent account changes on file have been made and seek independent verification.

2. TRAIN CUSTOMERS TO UNDERSTAND THE THREAT CAUSED BY PHISHING ATTACKS Phishing scams are the initiation point to many wire fraud schemes involving your customer’s money as well. Avoid a potential conflict with your customers and seek to educate them on threats to their hard-earned money from phishing attempts and other cyber crimes.

3. ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN AGREEMENTS WITH ALL CUSTOMERS PRIOR TO WIRING FUNDS A written agreement is a document that outlines your customer’s preferences regarding the transfer of funds from a particular account. You should have a written agreement in place prior to the

5. PERFORM AN OUT OF BAND VERIFICATION TO AUTHENTICATE WIRE REQUESTS When a callback is not practical or preferred by the customer, use an out-of-band verification to authenticate wire requests. The 4

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

type of verification method should be established in the written agreement. Do not sacrifice sound authentication procedures for customer convenience. “Electronic money” is still money and the same level of care should be taken with electronic funds as vault cash. Also, as noted above, legitimate changes to established wiring authorization instructions are rare, and the receipt of a request for procedural changes should be a red flag requiring additional verifications.

scenario because the bank is properly following their customer’s directions and therefore, has no legal liability for the loss.

9. DO NOT IMMEDIATELY REFUND LOST FUNDS TO THE CUSTOMER If fraudulent wire activity is discovered, do not automatically refund the stolen customer funds. While business decisions to immediately restore the customer to whole are good for the relationship, such business decisions are not insurable and could cause the denial of coverage under the insurance policy. Instead, contact your insurance carrier to report the fraud first and work with the carrier to lay out the best course of action. Be aware that coverage under a liability policy requires:

6. REQUIRE EXTRA SCRUTINY OF INTERNATIONAL WIRES Ensure your wire procedures require extra scrutiny for requests to transfer money overseas. These transfers are particularly problematic as they are often difficult to recall if they are found to be fraudulent. Train employees to assume that international wires are fraudulent until proven otherwise, especially if the transfer amount is in excess of an established dollar threshold.

7. REQUIRE EXTRA SCRUTINY OF WIRES TIED TO HELOC ACCOUNTS Due to the public nature of HELOC information, criminals can easily impersonate bank customers and request fraudulent transfers out of HELOC accounts. The importance of having a written agreement establishing permission for wire transfers and commercially reasonable authentication procedures is especially critical for HELOCs.

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A written demand from the customer requesting the restoration of funds or alleging a wrongful act;

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Legal liability on the bank’s part; and

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The insurers consent before any settlement with the customer can be made.

10. IMMEDIATELY ATTEMPT TO RECALL LOST FUNDS FROM THE CORRESPONDING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION Timeliness is key here. If bank personnel let a fraudulent wire instruction slip through, but quickly discovered it on the back end, the bank may be able to recall the funds from the receiving financial institution. Your bank has a better chance of succeeding if you have a policy that details these steps and if your personnel is trained to act rapidly.

8. REQUIRE EXTRA SCRUTINY OF WIRES TIED TO REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS Real estate wire fraud often involves a type of social engineering where criminals impersonate the title or real estate agent handling the property sale. The agent’s email is either forged or hacked and used to send an email to the property buyer who in turn provides wire instructions to a fraudulent bank account. Be mindful that there may not be insurance coverage for the bank under this

Wire Fraud continues to be a challenge for all banks. Ensure that your bank is following best practices to mitigate the exposure and risk of wire fraud losses. u Source: 2017 ABA Deposit Account Fraud Survey, published January 2018, American Bankers Association, www.aba.com

Upcoming CBA Calendar SEPTEMBER 2019 10 11 25

2019 Legislative Update Seminar Director’s & Trustees College CBA/CFT Bankers Forum

OCTOBER 2019

1 Current Developments in Asset/

Liability Seminar 2 CSFM 16 Bank Security Seminar 18 Legislative Update for Human

Resource Managers Seminar 23 CBA/CFT Bankers Forum

NOVEMBER 2O19

1 FDIC Outreach Seminar 6 CSFM 15 Uniform Power of Attorney Seminar

DECEMBER 2019 10 CSFM

JANUARY 2020

7 CSFM 16 New Leaders In Banking Awards 17 BankWorld 2020

FEBRUARY 2020

6 CSFM 19 CBA/CFT Bankers Forum

MARCH 2020

3 CSFM 18 CBA/CFT Bankers Forum 24 CSFM

APRIL 2020 5-7 8 15 21 30

CSFM BankSim CSFM 2020 Graduation CFT Bankers Forum BSA/AML Seminar Women In Banking Networking Event

MAY 2020

1 Women in Banking Event 7 CSFM 12 Director & Senior Officer Symposium 19 CSFM 20 CBA/CFT Bankers Forum

SEPTEMBER 2020

13-15 CSFM Resident Session

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Updating the

Compensation Conversation: Time to Reboot Manager Effectiveness

BY SHARON PODSTUPKA, PEARL MEYER

Money. It’s a tough subject. It’s a sensitive subject. It’s an uncomfortable subject. It’s no wonder we find that compensation communications are an ongoing, chronic challenge among companies, no matter the size.

Specifically, it’s those manager-to-employee discussions about pay decisions where companies discover that managers just aren’t

that good at it.

Yet managers continue to have primary responsibility for perhaps one of the most important face-to-face conversations of the year: the pay discussion. Even for the greatest managers in the world, these conversations can throw some curveballs, in addition to simply being awkward. Ultimately, one person needs to look another person in the eye and tell them how much the company thinks they’re worth. It takes skill, confidence, and lots of practice to do that gracefully and, maybe more important, effectively.

If companies are going to continue to rely on managers to deliver personal messages about pay to employees, especially in this evercomplex compensation landscape, it may be time to give their training, education, and support materials an upgrade. That does not mean starting over. It means taking the fundamental compensation communication tools and resources most companies have already created, such as talking points and frequently asked questions (FAQs), and refreshing and enriching the content to better resonate with today’s workforce.

the middle. In many companies, managers are messengers between the workforce and human resources, which can make pay conversations feel disconnected, or even disingenuous. It can be difficult for a manager to defend certain decisions when they haven’t been personally involved in the details, like setting compensation budgets or evaluating market competitiveness. If the only talking points available to help managers through these discussions are generally applicable to all employees, there is a risk that the employee will walk away from the conversation feeling like just another widget on the assembly line.

To help ensure the conversations are as personal as they should be, HR should take the time to collaborate with managers and help them create tailored talking points for their employees. Yes, this requires more time and thought, but it is the only way pay conversations will feel more personal. Through this process, HR can also help managers practice—yes, roleplay! Practice can help raise confidence in delivering the message, allow for more active listening and, in turn, improve the quality of the employee’s experience during the actual discussion.

This can be an especially valuable experience for managers facing some of the more challenging discussions, such as news about no increases, limited bonuses or an increase for a high performer that will likely fall below expectations.

Upgrade #1: Make Talking Points More Personal.

Upgrade #2: Do an FAQ Reality Check.

Sitting down with employees to talk with them about current and future income is not an easy thing to do—especially when you’re in

Compensation FAQs are common and generally effective support tools, giving managers the safety net they may need to answer

Sharon Podstupka

Overall, how effective do you think your managers are in communicating pay decisions?

Don’t take responsibility

1% 10%

Poor

60%

Fair

28%

Good Excellent

1%

6

Source: Pearl Meyer On Point: Communicating Compensation 2018

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Be prepared for challenging questions

• Why do I earn less than my colleague?

• How are base salaries set and changed over time?

• How does my increase/ bonus compare to my colleagues?

• What is the market value for my role?

• What are my career growth opportunities?

• Why didn’t I get a larger increase/bonus?

• How does our company’s incentive plans work; who is eligible for bonuses and how is the payout determined?

• Why does my friend at one of our competitors earn more?

• Do men earn more than women at our company?

Redirect to focus on philosophy, fairness, and process

• Who makes decisions about pay and when?

• Is – or how is – our company addressing gender pay-based issues?

• What is the difference between gender pay gap and gender pay equity?

Do you think your employees understand

78% expected employee with compare confidence.

But as the compensa- to try to make comparisons, even though most of the time they are howquestions to appropriately their own level of pay to those in similar positions tion landscape grows more complex, it is time to make sure your com- completely out of context and based on erroneous assumptions.

22% at other companies? pany’s compensation FAQs are going beyond the basics. FAQs should Of course, we can’t expect employees (or even managers, for that include new compensation-related topics that pose potential message matter) to become compensation experts. But until they understand think employee your employees understand challenges, such Do as you median pay (better safe than sorry) and how external market data plays a role in all pay-related 79%decisions, the how to appropriately compare their own gender pay equity.

FAQs helpinternal managers direct the focus risk of people making improper comparisons continues to grow. As level of payshould to thosealso of their of their conversations to how fairness, philosophy, and process play a the21% level of public discourse about pay fairness increases, this issue colleagues? critical role in making decisions about an employee’s pay. will continue to be one of the biggest missing pieces we need to solve HR should also consider soliciting compensation questions from in the pay discussion puzzle. managers and/orSource: employees to see there are as-yet Compensation unidentified 2018 First, ensure managers fully understand the strategy and philosPearl Meyer On if Point: Communicating topics or concerns that should be addressed. Often, those in HR ophy of the organization’s compensation structure. Then, go deeper think they have done a thorough job of anticipating all the possible and take the time to educate those responsible for having pay discusquestions, but there may be undercurrents of misunderstanding that sions on the topics of competitive pay positioning and the importance aren’t as obvious. There is the added benefit that by reaching out to of benchmarking. Discuss your organization’s methodologies and apask for input, HR is further demonstrating the company’s commit- proach to market analysis. Be clear about how the organization idenment to helping employees understand its compensation philosophy tifies peers and prices jobs. Encourage questions and reiterate why and practices. understanding this information will provide the foundation for better manager-to-employee pay discussions. And be sure new managers enUpgrade #3: Increase Transparency in Your New Hire tering the ranks also have this level of background.

Materials.

Installation Completed

Many companies do a good job of incorporating general information about their pay programs into onboarding programs. However, today’s heightened push around pay transparency provides a good opportunity for recruiters and HR to start having more detailed conversations with employees about how their pay is set at the time they are hired and setting expectations for how raises and bonuses will be determined and discussed during their employment. HR and recruiters also have the ability during this stage to explain to the employee what role managers play in the pay determination process. By putting the manager’s role in the proper context, the pressure may be taken off in advance, which can help facilitate better overall conversations.

Like technology upgrades, communication upgrades are generally not intended to be “start-from-scratch” initiatives, yet they are most definitely an investment in time and resources. To help ensure a successful reboot, thorough planning and disciplined project management is key. Just like you would with any other HR-related initiative, be sure to articulate a clear strategy and execution plan. Carefully think through your key messages, determine what needs to change, and identify how messages will be developed, delivered, by whom, and when. You can even do some “user testing” on specific deliverables to refine your approach.

There’s nothing better than knowing your technology is up-todate, allowing you to be the most effective you can be. Isn’t it time managers feel that way about their compensation communication tools and resources too? u

Upgrade #4: Make Benchmarking 101 a Required Course.

One of the most challenging aspects of compensation for employees to understand is how to appropriately compare their own levels of pay with those of internal colleagues and/or people who have jobs in similar positions at other companies. And let’s face it, people are always going

Sharon Podstupka is a principal at Pearl Meyer. She can be reached at sharon.podstupka@pearlmeyer.com.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

SEP Plans: Another Connection to Small Employers

By Steve Christenson, Executive Vice President, Ascensus LLC

C

ommunity banks have a strong success rate when it comes to helping local employers build strong foundations for their businesses. Banks provide small business loans to allow owners to expand and grow. The banks provide commercial checking accounts so that owners can conduct the day to day business operations including meeting payroll. These are critical support functions that banks have provided throughout their history.

But what if your bank could also help business owners invest in their own futures and help them retain good employees by offering a retirement plan? Business owners across the country face a critical need. We Steve Christenson are seeing the largest percentage of Americans actively working than we have in decades—the latest national unemployment figure was 3.8%1. This creates much greater competition for workers. Benefits play a key role in whether someone will accept a position and also whether they stay with that employer. Healthcare and retirement benefits are the two key drivers in that decision.

savings plans suited for small businesses, such as simplified employee pension (SEP) and savings incentive match plan for employees of small employers (SIMPLE) IRA plans. Today, we will focus on SEP plans.

A Solution for Small Employers SEP plans are available to nearly every type of business, but usually attract small businesses or self-employed individuals. In a SEP plan, employers can choose to make Traditional IRA contributions (according to specific formulas) to themselves and eligible employees. An employer generally can contribute a maximum of the lesser of 25 percent of the employee’s compensation for that year or $56,000 for 2019.

These plans offer many of the same advantages of other plans, but are easier and less expensive to maintain profit sharing or 401(k) plans. SEP plans benefit both employers and employees in the following ways.

Employers • Less expensive to maintain • Relief from fiduciary liability for investment performance • No nondiscrimination or coverage testing • Deductible employer contributions • Discretionary employer contributions • Start-up tax credit • Owners receive contributions

The Coverage Gap According to an AARP survey, 55 million workers do not have access to an employer-based retirement plan2. Without some sort of driver—either through an employer or though financial education—the average employee will not seek out a retirement savings option on her own. This lack of access is more pronounced with micro employers (1–50 employees) and small employers (51–99 employees). According to Morningstar, only 48 percent of employees in the micro market have access to a retirement plan3. That number increases to 67 percent for small employers. With that level of coverage gap, you begin to understand why state and local governments have started to step in with other retirement savings options. Community banks also have an opportunity to fill the coverage gap by offering retirement

Employees • Opportunity to save for retirement • Tax-deferred contributions and earnings until distributed • Employer funds contributions to the employee’s Traditional IRA • Employee owns the Traditional IRA contributions immediately

Easy for Employers One of the most common questions we receive at Ascensus® is “How difficult is it to establish a SEP plan?” The answer is: the 8

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

process is generally easy. The bank can provide to the employer a plan document based on IRS Form 5305-SEP, Simplified Employee Pension-Individual Retirement Accounts Contribution Agreement. The employer makes a few elections on the document before their tax return due date plus extensions, and the plan is created. The employer then provides their employees with the required notice containing SEP rules and plan provisions.

Eligible employees, including the business owner, must also establish Traditional IRAs to receive contributions. This is the key opportunity to obtain new or cross-sold clients as employees may establish the Traditional IRAs wherever they choose. Your bank may coordinate with the employer to provide education and streamline the Traditional IRA establishment process to encourage enrollment with your organization.

There is no additional reporting required; the difference is properly coding the contributions as SEP contributions for the correct tax year.

Most bank data processing systems already have this coding option.

The key differential for a bank will be their willingness to educate both their staff and small businesses. You should be able to provide employers with baseline education about the rules and benefits of a SEP plan. But most importantly, you should educate employees on the value of the SEP plan and what it means for their futures. Assisting employers and employees by providing helpful information will lead to successful SEP plans and stronger bonds with your bank. u Steven Christenson is Executive Vice President of the Ascensus Retirement Products and Solutions (RPS) Group.

Easy for Banks There is little investment you need to make to enter or enhance this market. Your bank likely already has much of what you need to offer SEP plans.

• SEP Plan Document for Employers – The bank can secure a SEP plan document to provide to employers. The bank can elect to charge for initially providing the document, or annually for maintaining it.

• Traditional IRA Document for Employees – These IRA opening documents are the same documents used for all Traditional IRAs the bank services today.

• Required Reporting – The bank must report SEP contributions to the employee’s Traditional IRA just as they do for all Traditional IRAs.

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The Employment Situation—February 2019,” February 2019, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf 2. David John and Gary Koenig, AARP Public Policy Institute, “Workplace Retirement Plans Will Help Workers Build Economic Security,” October 2014, https://www. aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2014-10/aarp-workplace-retirement-plans-buildeconomic-security.pdf.

3. Morningstar,“Small Employers, Big Responsibilities: How Policymakers Can Address the Small Retirement Plan Problem,” November 2017, https://www.morningstar.com/ content/dam/marketing/shared/pdfs/policy/SmallEmployersBigResponsibilities.pdf.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

The Compensation Committee Agenda for 2019:

TOP FIVE CONCERNS Pearl Meyer’s annual “Top Five” publication provides a roadmap for boards that are seeking to get ahead of emerging issues. More than ever, we are seeing the compensation committee’s scope of influence expand, while much attention is being paid to how directors themselves are compensated. Measuring and rewarding performance—both financial and non-financial—based on the

specific goals of each company continues to be a complicated endeavor. Meanwhile, decisions must be made within a complex and uncertain business and geopolitical environment.

Our five topics for 2019 follow the convention of previous years in that we are offering a balance of practical, near-term ideas, as well as future-looking topics for your consideration.

1. BE READY FOR AN EXPANDING COMPENSATION COMMITTEE ROLE Broader-based pay issues (think CEO Pay Ratio and gender and other diversity-based pay inequities), talent development, and culture-related concerns are pushing the boundaries of traditional compensation committee responsibilities.

2. GET MORE COMFORTABLE WITH NON-FINANCIAL METRICS They may not be right for all companies but given the increasing interest in non-financial metrics and the possibility that they could further your business strategy, a robust discussion on the subject should be included in your 2019 compensation committee’s agenda.

3. REVISIT AND REFINE YOUR RELATIVE TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN (RTSR) PLAN TSR is probably here to stay but satisfying external stakeholders while maintaining any incentive value of an rTSR-based awards is challenging. Some companies are feeling pressure to modify these plans.

4. BRACE FOR CHANGES IN DIRECTOR PAY Given the increased discussions regarding board diversity, education, and refreshment and additional board and committee responsibilities, committees may want to—or need to—rethink their director pay programs.

5. EXPECT AND PREPARE FOR UNEXPECTED IMPACT TO YOUR COMPENSATION PLANS Remember good plan design—and good executive compensation governance—includes planning for the unexpected. Inevitably there will be things that you haven’t fully anticipated, but thoughtful preparation for the “known unknowns” and brainstorming “black swan” events can help the board mitigate future risk.

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Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Be Ready for An Expanding Compensation Committee Role

halls” before and after board meetings, individual site visits, etc.).

• Diversity and Inclusion: For many boards, their discussions regarding D&I started from a risk and liability perspective (e.g., how to insure against discrimination lawsuits, or concerns over possible reporting on gender pay equity). And #metoo reporting has further highlighted the potential corporate culture risks that can result from a lack of diversity among the management team. Without question, the committee has a responsibility to ensure that the company has policies and procedures in place to address any reported incidents and take remedial action as necessary. Beyond the risk aspects, however, companies increasingly recognize the advantages to being viewed as a leader on D&I issues.

Numerous studies have concluded that diversity in the C-suite and boardroom results in stronger financial performance and returns to shareholders. At a broader organizational level, a reputation as an open and inclusive employer can be a competitive advantage in a tightening labor market. And more and more, consumers are considering good corporate citizenship as a factor in their buying decisions.

One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in corporate governance over the past two to three years is the expansion of “executive compensation” committee oversight. In fact, the term “compensation committee” is increasingly a misnomer. As part of our annual Pearl Meyer/NACD review of director compensation, we found that nearly 20% of the 1400 US public companies analyzed have formally expanded the purview of their board compensation committees to incorporate some aspect of leadership and talent.

Committee names include compensation and management development committee; leadership and compensation committee; management performance committee; and people resources committee, just to name a few.

Overview is Broader and Deeper More and more, the compensation committee is focusing time and attention on issues beyond the determination of compensation for C-suite executives, such as succession planning, corporate culture, and diversity and inclusion. Far from trying to second guess or micro-manage the senior management team, boards understand that these human capital issues present real, strategic business challenges, risks, and opportunities to their companies.

• Succession Planning and Talent Development: CEO succession has long been one of the key responsibilities of the board. We see leading boards expanding their purview beyond the C-suite, to include succession plans for other key positions, including select positions two or three levels removed from the CEO. Most boards already go through an annual “ready-now/ready-soon” review of successors to key positions.

That said, in many cases, the process is tilted too heavily towards the status quo rather than the needs of the future. For example, while it’s considered best practice to have succession charts that identify readynow candidates for key positions, committees should also have alternative succession chart(s) that contemplate i) the actual expected timing of retirements, and/or ii) changes in business/organizational needs.

These alternative views can serve to highlight talent development or recruiting needs (e.g., ready-now executives who will be past their “expiration dates” when positions are likely to become open, or skills/ experience gaps in the current management population needed to meet the changing business).

• Corporate Culture and Employee Engagement: Corporate culture is a bit like art—we may disagree about what is good, but we all know bad when we see it. However, historically these issues have been squarely in the no-fly zone for directors—under the sole purview of management—unless or until there was a major problem. Today, committees are looking to be more engaged in providing ongoing counsel and oversight. The recent examples of the negative business ramifications driven by toxic environments serve to convince directors that oversight of culture is just as important as oversight of business operations/strategy. But, given the episodic nature of board member interaction with the company, minding the corporate culture will likely remain the responsibility of management. Committee oversight tends to take the form of routinely monitoring trends and reports (e.g., engagement surveys, employee turnover statistics, exit interview findings, Glass Door reviews, etc.). In addition, many directors try to develop a better understanding of the corporate culture through individual efforts and activities (e.g., attending employee town hall meetings, “wandering the

Practically speaking, the challenge for committees is making time in the annual calendar to address these issues in more than a check-the-box way. As companies look to ensure that new strategic human capital issues get the appropriate attention, we encourage committees to identify opportunities to streamline the more compliance-oriented parts of the annual agenda. In our experience, even seemingly simple things like executive summaries, materials in advance, and consent agendas can help to free up precious time for important strategic discussions.

Get More Comfortable with Non-Financial Metrics Investors are increasingly asking companies to expand performance criteria beyond traditional financial yardsticks and increase the focus on—and investment in—non-financial drivers of longterm value creation. Implementing non-financial metrics as part of the executive incentive portfolio has its challenges, but if done correctly, the resulting balance of both lead (non-financial) and lag (financial) metrics may provide a more holistic framework to motivate and reward long-term performance. The top questions to ask when starting down this path are: • Which non-financial metrics should be considered and for what program?

• Should non-financial metrics be a separately-weighted component or a modifier?

• What are the potential pitfalls in implementing non-financial metrics?

Consideration of Non-Financial Metrics In addition to providing competitive compensation opportunities, a key objective of incentive programs is to signal, both internally and externally, as to what the company’s board and leadership view as important indicators of successful performance.

Often, those indicators are based on financial performance objectives such as growth, profitability, and returns on invested capital.

However, while those financial metrics are important measures of a company’s ability to execute on existing products and services, they are generally lagging indicators of performance and don’t continued on next page 11

Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Top Five Concerns

• Relative performance metrics can help mitigate against the impact of industry volatility over multi-year periods in a way that absolute measures cannot; • Peer selection and performance tracking is simpler for rTSR than it is for other relative financial performance metrics like EPS, EBITDA, or ROIC; • rTSR is easily defensible, aligning pay outcomes with shareholder experience; and • rTSR remains a core piece of the pay-for-performance models of both leading proxy advisory firms.

continued from page 11

specifically measure and reward attainment of key strategic value drivers.

In considering whether to introduce non-financial metrics and what types of metrics to incorporate into an incentive program, the following are questions to discuss at your compensation committee meeting: • Have we identified key drivers of future growth and value creation?

• Are we able to effectively measure how we are viewed by our customers?

• Do we need to raise awareness as to the criticality of certain key strategic imperatives?

As some companies with these plans may have recently discovered, however, yesterday’s rTSR plan may no longer be sufficient to earn “full credit” with external stakeholders. Many companies are feeling pressure to modify existing plans to fit with “best practices” such as adding modifiers to account for absolute TSR performance or raising relative performance standards. So how should boards be thinking about the rTSR plan in 2019, as they seek to balance the concerns of external stakeholders with the desire to maintain the incentive value of their compensation plans?

The following questions should be asked to ensure your plan is still doing what you want it to do: • What is the role of rTSR in our mix? If you adopted an rTSR plan in order to have a performance-based vehicle that provides incentives to outperform in up-cycles and down-cycles, be careful about how many additional modifiers you add to your plan. Every time you layer on an adjustment factor, you run the risk of getting further away from the original objective, and you run the risk of diluting the incentive value of your plan.

• Do we already have an absolute modifier built into our rTSR plan? If you are concerned that above-target payouts in years of poor absolute performance sends the wrong message, you may already have an absolute modifier in your plan. For awards that are denominated and settled in shares (as they are for most companies), the full market value of individual shares earned will move with stock price and will impact the realized value at vesting. In these cases, capping the number of shares earned in a down-cycle penalizes plan participants twice for the same tough industry conditions.

• Is absolute performance already captured somewhere else in our compensation program? For the vast majority of companies with an rTSR plan, that plan is not operating in a vacuum. Most companies already pay for absolute performance through the annual incentive plan, or with other long-term incentive devices like stock options or another absolute financial performance metric in the long-term incentive program.

• Has the payout schedule been properly calibrated? Before establishing more “robust” performance standards in your rTSR plan, consider the impact of any change on the target value. If you target the median of the market for pay opportunities, but want to shift your rTSR performance target from the 50th to the 60th percentile of your peers for example, it may be appropriate to adjust other terms such as the maximum payout opportunity in order to ensure that the expected value still aligns with your pay philosophy.

• Are we overthinking things? There are more nuanced ways to apply absolute TSR modifiers than simply capping payouts for negative TSR performance. Some companies opt for collars that set both

Not all companies will need to make this kind of change or need to move toward this at the same pace as others, but given the increasing interest and the possibility that it could further your business strategy, this topic should at a minimum be included on your committee’s agenda in 2019 and likely revisited frequently.

Measuring Non-Financial Performance Assuming your company has decided to introduce non-financial performance objectives into your incentive plan, how should it be structured? First, it is most common to incorporate non-financial metrics into the annual program since it is easier and more impactful to set goals and measure performance outcomes on a yearly as opposed to a multi-year basis. Ideally, the non-financial objectives are short-term imperatives or areas of focus that will result in long-term value creation.

Another key consideration is whether to structure the non-financial objectives as a modifier to the financially determined incentive or whether it should be a separately weighted component of the incentive. Most companies use them as a modifier, which tends to be a softer measure of performance on those non-financial criteria since, often, the application of the modifier tends to be positive rather than negative. A related consideration is how quantifiable the measurement of the non-financial objectives is. The more subjective the measure, the more likely it is used as a modifier as opposed to a separately weighted component.

Potential Pitfalls The biggest potential pitfall is that the use of subjective criteria tends to result in different views of the degree of attainment and thus potential for disagreement. Another is having too many non-financial measures, which can lead to a lack of understanding and dilution of importance. Finally, it is important to revisit the metrics annually and adjust as the company’s business strategy evolves.

Revisit and Refine Your Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR) Plan Despite concerns regarding their effectiveness, it looks like rTSR-based incentive plans are here to stay. During the 2018 proxy season, over 50% of S&P 500 companies reported using rTSR in their long-term incentive plan and it’s not hard to understand the key reasons why: 12

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

As noted above, median director pay has increased just over five percent per year over the past quarter century—a fairly modest growth rate that is not particularly noteworthy. But the chart clearly shows how the delivery of director compensation has been streamlined. The lion’s share of compensation now comes from the annual cash retainer and annual restricted stock grant. Of particular note: • Only 10% of the Top 200 still use board meeting fees (compared to 85% in 1995).

• Only 7% of companies grant options (compared to 38% in 1995); in contrast, 97% now grant full value shares (compared to 53% in 1995). Furthermore, in 1995 only 11 of the Top 200 companies had share ownership guidelines; now in place at 93% of companies.

• While the majority of companies (58%) still provide some form of compensation to members of at least one committee, and virtually all companies (97%) provide additional compensation to committee chairs, the average value hasn’t actually increased much in 25 years, so it now represents a much smaller portion of the overall pay package.

• Director pension plans, which were offered by 70% of the Top 200 in 1995, no longer exist at any Top 200 company.

a floor and a ceiling for different absolute TSR outcomes, while others adopt a matrix approach that can provide for varied payouts across a range of rTSR and absolute TSR performance levels. However, while nuance can help address both external and internal concerns, be careful not to become so clever that the incentive value of your program is lost completely to unhelpful complexity.

As you assess your plan design and answer the questions above, you may find that what you have is already working well and that the best alternative for you is to stick to your original plan and to sell that plan directly to your shareholders. However, if at some point you feel like your rTSR plan is causing you more trouble than it’s worth, with too many extra hoops to jump through, it may be time to start fresh. Maybe the right answer for you is to consider an alternative relative or absolute measure for your plan…or maybe it’s time for something even more revolutionary, like stock options!

Brace for Changes in Director Pay Last summer, ISS announced that it would be adding a review of director compensation as part of its 2019 voting guidelines. ISS has since announced that it would defer “formal” assessment to the 2020 proxy season but will include their analyses in 2019 reports so that companies—and investors—can become familiar with methodology. Add to this new scrutiny the fact that many activist investors already use director (and executive) compensation as a stalking horse issue that demonstrates lack of independence on the part of the board of directors. This new ISS quantitative analysis will add fuel to that activist fire.

…And Where We’re Going While many of these trends will continue, we’ve started to see some caveats and expect some new twists in the future.

• Median director pay will continue to increase at low-to-mid single digit rates, but the range in market pay may narrow even more. In 1995, Top 200 quartile pay (i.e., 25th and 75th percentiles) was roughly +/-20% compared to median. This year, the quartiles are only +/- 7.5% versus median. The new scrutiny on director pay will only put more pressure on “outliers.”

• As a result, we will likely see companies consider smaller, more frequent adjustments to director pay levels and we may eventually find that companies review and adjust director pay annually, as they do with executive pay.

Director Compensation: Where We’ve Been…

The structure of director compensation tends to be much less complex than executive pay, and annual changes in market practice are fairly incremental. But that doesn’t mean static. The comparison below provides stark illustration of the changes in director pay among the largest US publicly-traded companies over the past 25 years.

continued on next page 13

Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Top Five Concerns

Even in “normal” times, there are plenty of occasions to consider use of discretion to adjust incentive outcomes. These occasions may include acquisitions and divestitures; unusual swings in commodity prices, exchange rates, or interest rates; lawsuit settlements or regulatory actions; legacy asset write-downs; windfall gains and the like. Your compensation committee should ensure it has thought through if, when, and how you might make modifications to the incentive plan before you begin an incentive cycle. Talk about the various scenarios by asking: • What has been done in the past? Fairness for both management and shareholders begins with consistency and predictability. Understand your history of incentive plan adjustments. Much like that with the Supreme Court, stare decisis should be given due consideration. But with changing times, new approaches may be warranted. The corollary to this question is, “what precedent is being set?”

• Is the event unusual/extraordinary or is it the new normal? Truly one-time events might be treated differently, with greater emphasis on getting the right and fair outcome. But a new normal requires a greater focus on the impact such conditions will have on decision-making and the path to value creation. Insulating management from new economic realities they must manage can result in a chronic handicap to your business’ bottom line results.

• How might decision-making be influenced if adjustments are or are not made? The very purpose of incentive compensation is to align the interests of management with shareholders. As referenced in the last point, you must understand the decision-making signal being sent by an adjustment (or lack of one). Sometimes it makes sense to provide accommodations in short-term incentives, while sticking closer to bottom line results in long-term calculations.

• What is the magnitude of the event on incentives? Would an adjustment only result in a small, incremental change to the incentive outcome, or will it change a no-payout situation to a maximum payout (or something in between these cases)? Fairness and disclosure concerns may be different depending upon the magnitude of the adjustment.

Remember good plan design—and good executive compensation governance—includes planning for the unexpected. Thoughtful preparation for the “known unknowns” and brainstorming “black swan” events can help the compensation committee mitigate future risk, improve perceptions of fairness, and reinforce the commitment to pay-for-performance.

continued from page 13

• Companies will continue to eliminate meeting fees in favor of cash retainers, which are more suited to the increasingly fluid and individual nature of board member time commitment. That said, we have seen some companies incorporate contingencies to provide additional compensation (e.g., meeting fees, per diems, etc.) in situations where time requirements are significantly greater than “normal.”

• Companies will continue to favor full value shares over options for directors. Current thinking among governance experts is that full value shares are more consistent with the objective of conferring real stock ownership to directors to align their interests with the shareholders they represent. However, there are pockets of activists and private equity investors who believe directors should also be subject to payfor-performance expectations. Others argue that since directors certify company results it could create conflicts if their pay were tied to performance. We expect this debate will intensify and may cause, at a minimum, renewed interest in options for directors—at least among smaller, or newly-public companies. Interestingly, while no companies among the current Top 200 have performance plans, in 1995 there were six companies in the Top 200 that had performance-based equity awards for directors.

• On the committee front, it seems that we may have hit the peak on differentiated pay, and the pendulum is swinging back. In fact, for the past two to three years, the majority of Top 200 companies have stopped providing committee compensation to members of all but their audit committees. The trend toward differentiation, which began as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, is being reversed in many companies under the premise that all committees bear different burdens and all board members make equal contributions to the whole.

• Lastly, we wonder if companies might consider how director pay programs could support board refreshment and diversity goals. For example, younger or first-time directors might benefit from a cash-equity balance closer to 50-50, or a guaranteed annual education stipend.

To date, companies have increasingly relied on mandatory retirement (used by 81% of the Top 200 today, compared to only 20% in 1995) to address board refreshment. Maybe companies need to devise a “carrot” to accompany this “stick.” Consider the pension plans of old. They were designed to transition long-tenured directors off the board by providing a multi-year payout post-termination. Might there be a way to recreate this concept in a new, more shareholder-friendly way?

Moving Ahead

Looking ahead, board compensation levels will be under new scrutiny at a time when the demands on board members continue to intensify. Boards will have to think creatively to find the balance between offering a compelling package to attract qualified directors and keeping compensation totals within guidelines acceptable to shareholders.

“Expect the unexpected” says much to summarize what we anticipate in 2019. We have already seen major compensation-related themes begin to emerge that are not on this short list. For example, the demand for addressing gender-based pay issues is only increasing, as is the appetite for non-financial metrics that are specific to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. How to effectively plan for and manage long-term leadership development within an organization is taking on more urgency as companies struggle with both executive succession and an incredibly tight labor market overall. The long list goes on.

We propose that boards keep an eye on the horizon, but focus on the active, current issues that are most relevant for the continued growth, innovation, and healthy corporate culture of their organization. Not an easy task, yet one that compensation plans can help support with careful thought and attention. u

Expect and Prepare for Unexpected Impact to Your Compensation Plans These are turbulent times. From trade wars, tariffs, and tax law changes to major environmental events and the impact of global climate change, events external to businesses are buffeting financial results and impacting incentive compensation outcomes.

These new challenges to your pay-for-performance commitment make this a good time to review your adjustment policies.

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Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Fulfilling Your SAR Filing Requirements

By Chris W. Bell, Associate General Counsel, Compliance Alliance​

O

ne of the most common types of questions that we get at Compliance Alliance concerns the deadline of particular regulatory requirements. While some requirements have a definite due date and a knowable trigger, the trigger for other requirements is a bit is more of a judgment call. The suspicious activity report (“SAR”) must be filed “no later than 30 calendar days after the date of initial detection by the bank of facts that may constitute a basis for filing a SAR.” You have to love any rule with a self-referential deadline. What can be clearer than the notion that you have to file a SAR within 30 days of knowing you need to file a SAR? A closer look at the SAR rules can help break this requirement down into a more manageable expectation and tune up your Chris W. Bell suspicious activity reporting system.

The first thing to keep in mind is what constitutes “suspicious activity.” The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) tells banks, bank holding companies, and their subsidiaries to monitor transactions and file a SAR on any transaction that they deem suspicious. A transaction includes “a deposit; a withdrawal; a transfer between accounts; an exchange of currency; an extension of credit; a purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit, or other monetary instrument or investment security; or any other payment, transfer, or delivery by, through, or to a bank.” You must file a SAR when you have reason to suspect: • Insider abuse (regardless of amount); • Criminal violations aggregating $5,000 or more when you can identify a suspect; • Criminal violations aggregating $25,000 or more, even when you are unable to identify a suspect; or • Transaction(s) involving your bank that aggregate to $5,000 or more, if you know, suspect, or have reason to suspect that the transaction(s): ffPotentially involve money laundering or other illegal activity (e.g., terrorism financing); ff Is designed to evade the BSA or its implementing regulations; or ff Has no business or apparent lawful purpose or is not the type of transaction that the particular customer would normally be expected to engage in, and the filer has no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction.

You must establish and follow suspicious activity monitoring and reporting systems to fulfill your duties under the BSA. Examiners look for suspicious activity monitoring and reporting systems that include five key components: identification or alert of unusual activity; managing alerts; SAR decision making; SAR completion and filing; and monitoring and SAR filing on continuing activity. This boils down to being able to identify unusual customer behavior, deciding whether that behavior is “suspicious activity” that triggers the reporting requirement, and fulfilling the reporting requirement. During an exam you may be asked to show, through policies, procedures, and processes, how your bank takes the necessary steps to address each

component and the person(s) or departments responsible for executing those steps.

Through your transaction monitoring programs, you will identify many cases of unusual behavior on behalf of your customers. That does not mean that you will file a SAR on each case of unusual behavior. You must file a SAR within 30 days of identifying potentially suspicious activity, with the deadline extending to 60 days when you are unable to identify a suspect. “Initial detection” is not when you identify unusual behavior. That is only the first step to identifying suspicious activity. There are many cases where activity can be deemed unusual for a particular customer and generate a red flag, but where the activity, upon further review and investigation, is legitimate and perfectly reasonable. After identifying unusual behavior, you must promptly review the transaction or account to determine whether the unusual behavior suggests that the activity is consistent with one of the types of suspicious activity outlined above. If you determine that the unusual behavior is suspicious activity, the clock starts ticking.

There is no specific timetable for your investigation. While the FFIEC has said the investigation must be completed “within a reasonable period of time,” what is considered reasonable will vary according to the facts and circumstances of the particular activity being reviewed and the effectiveness of your SAR monitoring, reporting, and decision-making process. The examiner will be looking to make sure that you have “adequate procedures for reviewing and assessing facts and circumstances identified as potentially suspicious, and that those procedures are documented and followed.”

One question that comes up often during the review process is the extent to which a bank has to confirm the underlying criminal activity to support a SAR. While the BSA requires you to report suspicious activity that may involve money laundering, BSA violations, terrorist financing, and certain other crimes above prescribed dollar thresholds, you do not have to investigate or confirm the underlying crime itself. Law enforcement will handle the investigation. When evaluating suspicious activity and completing the SAR, you should, to the best of your ability, identify the characteristics of the suspicious activity.

Your bank plays a crucial role in helping the government catch people who are engaged in terrorist financing, money laundering, and other illegal activity. You must have systems in place to monitor for consumer activity that is designed to further such illegal activity and report the suspicious activity to the proper authorities. While your systems should flag all unusual activity, you will not be filing SARs on all of it. Your reporting requirement arises when you have reason to suspect that the identified activity is the kind of suspicious activity under the BSA. You should promptly review all unusual behavior to determine whether you are dealing with suspicious activity and must file a SAR and then file that SAR within 30 days (or 60 days if you cannot identify a suspect). Compliance Alliance members have access to our BSA toolkit, which contains many tools to help you fulfill your SAR filing requirements. u Chris W. Bell serves as Associate General Counsel for Compliance Alliance.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

CBA WELCOMES FIRST FEMALE CHAIR

CYNTHIA MERKLE ters when they were children, as he had more flexibility. That helped me a great deal when I was starting out as I could devote the time to special assignment/projects when required.

TELL OUR READERS ABOUT YOUR BANKING CAREER.

I

ronically, I was recently interviewed and asked this same question, which gave me the opportunity to reminisce on how I started in banking. You see, I was/am an artist at heart.

By way of background, I received an Associate’s degree in the arts from Endicott College and my concentration was Ceramics, although I realized pretty quickly I was not going to make a living by creating and selling pottery.

As for the art- well today I am living the dream through one of my daughters who is an artist in Los Angeles and although it has been years since I have picked up a paint brush, I have to admit my creativity and “process oriented” mind has helped me succeed in business.

My dad suggested I try banking so I went to work for Old Stone in Providence, RI as a teller. I thoroughly enjoyed working with customers and on a team and eventually decided to go back to college where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Bryant College. Shortly after graduation, I started in a management training program at that same bank.

LIKE MANY BANK EXECUTIVES YOU SERVE ON MANY BOARDS – HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME? I do admit some days seem to last longer than 24 hours, but the bottom line is I love the work I do with various organizations. I have always been fortunate to work for banks that support the time I dedicate to these efforts, without that it would be impossible.

That was almost 40 years ago and during that tenure I had the opportunity to work at Fleet Bank, later moving to Eastern Bank in Boston. Just over six years ago I came to Connecticut to lead Union Savings Bank. I have been fortunate to work for some wonderful people over the years, each one providing me an opportunity to work in various areas of banking. I have worked in Retail and Commercial Banking, spent close to 10 years in Mortgage Banking, managed a Call Center, created a Compliance and Operational Risk Management Department, worked in Management Accounting and spent time working with an insurance affiliate. I really was able to gain a holistic understanding of banking.

In addition to assuming the role as Chairman of the CBA, I currently serve as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Endicott College, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Western Connecticut as well as the Vice Chairman of the Danbury Chamber of Commerce. Each organization is unique in their mission, yet a great deal of commonality exists related to governance. I have made some wonderful friendships through board activities over the years, and I do highly encourage individuals starting out to get involved as it is very rewarding.

This journey down memory lane also provided me the time to think about the many people that I have worked with over the years, as well as today at USB. I have been very lucky to have some very talented and dedicated individuals as co-workers.

TELL US ABOUT UNION SAVINGS BANK, ITS HISTORY AND THE COMMUNITIES IT SERVES? USB is a mutual bank headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, committed to acting in the best interests of our three primary stakeholders, our employees, customers and community. We’re focused on long-term relationships, not shortterm gains. It’s been our philosophy and driving force since day one, emphasizing our deep and abiding commitment to the communities that we serve in Western Connecticut.

I have also been fortunate as my husband Philip, is my biggest cheerleader. He has always been supportive of my career and been willing to relocate for opportunities that I have been afforded. Along the way, he too has been successful in his field yet in many instances he would take the lead with our daugh16

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Additionally, our establishment of the USB Foundation in 1998 and our commitment to its continued sustainability provides us with an additional avenue in which we touch so many needed initiatives, programs and causes that enhance the lives of our neighbors.

The role of being a local community bank has evolved immensely over our 153 years. Originally we met the savings needs of our customers, then shortly thereafter were able to provide them with the funds they needed to purchase their first home. And now more than ever, USB positively impacts the lives of many by meeting the needs of individual’s financial journeys as well as our community through our ongoing charitable contributions and countless volunteerism efforts.

Our unwavering passion to give back is part of our DNA. In response to our commitment to our community, the Community Relations Department of the Bank was established in recent years, creating a dedicated area focused on everything community. It was through this group that we have increased our efforts to concentrate on educational programs both at our charitable foundation level and through our volunteer efforts. In October 2016, we created the Union Savings Bank Teachers’ Closet. The objective is to provide free school supplies to teachers in the communities we serve where students and their families experience extreme financial challenges preventing them from being able to have the necessary tools they need to succeed in school. The program kicked-off at a bank corporate meeting with team members of the bank donating nearly 2,500 items to take the first steps in stocking the Teachers’ Closet. Today, over 10,000 items have been distributed to 71 teachers in three elementary schools in our local communities. continued on next page

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

CBA WELCOMES FIRST FEMALE CHAIR CYNTHIA MERKLE continued from page 17

THE BANK PUTS A HEAVY EMPHASIS ON PERSONNEL TRAINING, AS EVIDENCED BY THE NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL CSFM GRADUATES OVER THE YEARS; HOW DOES THE BANK SELECT ITS CANDIDATES AND DO YOU FIND THEIR ATTENDANCE TO THE PROGRAM BENEFICIAL? We believe strongly in investing in our team members, whether through schools such as the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School and the CSFM, or providing access to professional certification programs or licensing agencies. Fundamentally, we believe this added expertise is beneficial to all of our stakeholders (Employees, Customers and Communities).

We work closely with our Learning and Development team in identifying individuals throughout the organization that have expressed an interest in further development, or individuals we believe have the attributes for succeeding in some of these programs. Each year our management team reviews the nominees and prioritizes the candidates based upon the program. Many of our leaders today have either gone through these educational programs or gained additional expertise through the various certifications that are available in the industry. The investment has been well worth it! u

We’ve also launched a “USB Gives Back” initiative which empowers our employees to contribute to causes near and dear to their hearts, as well as nominate their fellow team members for a Community Hero award in honor of their countless volunteer efforts and above and beyond willingness to lend a hand.

It’s because of the dedication and commitment of the entire USB team that we are able to touch the lives of our neighbors and communities in so many ways.

WHAT IS THE BANK DOING TO ATTRACT THE NEXT GENERATION OF CUSTOMERS, THE MILLENNIALS? We are working very hard to remain relevant in this sector. We spend a great deal of time on product selection and implementation. That is paying off as we recently introduced a number of mobile functions to our customer base and we are seeing an increased engagement from this sector.

We also believe the USB team members are key in carrying our message, so we are working just as hard on engagement with them. We recently put a “Think Tank” challenge out to them to develop new ways of attracting new core customers and as a result we have five teams competing. I am eager to see their presentations and learn who the winners are.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Congratulations to the Class of 2019!

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S T O T H E S E

Connecticut School of Finance & Management

T

he Connecticut Bankers Association is proud to announce that 65 students in the Connecticut School of Finance & Management’s Class of 2019 graduated on April 10, 2019 as the largest graduating class in

program history! Congratulations to all the graduates and to Petra-Ann Brown of the CT Department of Banking, who was awarded the John C. Shortell Award for Academic Excellence, which is presented to the student who achieved the highest academic grade while attending the CSFM two-year program.

The Connecticut School of Finance & Management (CSFM) is the premiere management training program offered by the CBA and has long proven to be a staple within many of the banks in Connecticut and surrounding states, as a critical tool in helping to shape their leadership team of the future.

CSFM students from New York, Massachusetts and all across Connecticut traveled to the Trumbull Marriott in Connecticut to participate in the multiday BankSim, a simulation that allows them to practice the multitude of concepts developed during the preceding two years at the school in a fun and competitive atmosphere and brings their CSFM studies to a close. This resident program culminates with the CSFM graduation ceremony.

The syllabus and application for the CSFM Class of 2021 is currently available on the CBA website at www.ctbank.com/CSFM/Application.aspx. Please contact Kim Tuttle at ktuttle@ctbank.com for more information.

u 20

ACBB Brittany Blythe Chelsea Groton Bank Barbara Curto Sara Lundy Marielle Winkelman Collinsville Savings Bank Shane Walker CT Department of Banking Petra-Ann Brown* Joseph Wallace Dime Bank Amber McClurg Michael Wren

Essex Savings Bank Elizabeth Kuhns* Gregory Pilney Fairfield County Bank Karen Dauk* Sean Hargraves Luis Lucero Walter Romero First County Bank Maria Bivona Duncan Lee

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

C S F M C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9 G R A D U AT E S : Guilford Savings Bank Kristopher Cricchi Abigail Patrizio* Randy Sonzoni* Ion Bank Kendra Shade Hoyt Nancy Matos Jane Pinho KeyBank Monthira Phothisaeng Liberty Bank Ashley Aiello Nicole Castelli Laura Kuskey Katharine Washburn Timiki White

Northwest Community Bank Pamela Dean People’s United Bank Sebastian Liseo Angela Presta Michael Riina Silveras Sboui Benish Shah Stephanie Wild-Lynes PeoplesBank Timothy Wegiel Salisbury Bank & Trust Company Jean Stapf Savings Bank of Danbury Dori Ann Youngberg

Litchfield Bancorp Laura Berendsohn Casey Smith

Simsbury Bank Joseph Beale Jennifer Onion

Milford Bank John Bailly Rebecca Tudor

Stafford Savings Bank Roland Chirico Jaime Miller

Newtown Savings Bank Gregory Busch Katie Smith

TD Bank, N.A. Brian Balzano Jordan Dennis Brandi Flamengo Katie Merriam Thomaston Savings Bank Amanda Burch Charles McCormick Torrington Savings Bank Michael Sweeney Union Savings Bank Jennifer Molony United Bank Joseph Brigandi Kimberly Deome Serge Njeim Brendan Theroux Webster Bank, N.A. Amy Gendreau Windsor Federal Savings & Loan Janet Schmidt* Joanna Gould Andrew White * Denotes Honors recipient

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Heidi DeWyngaert

Kevin Nodell

Darwin Montenegro

Greg Curtis

Luisanna Cabrera

Leslie McKillip

John Banks

Jane Anderson

David Stone

Tom Linder

Maria Bivona

Ben Peter

Karen Chavez

Michelle Mongillo

Nancy Gerson

Christopher Hartmann

Michael Fiano

Stephanie Atsales

Jen Corradi

Priscilla Disciglio

Kelly Smith

Amanda Brycki

Wayne Jolley

James Barger

Kari Jonikas

Rhonda McEwenThompson

Meghan Krebs

Robert Capobianco

Renee Metzger

Christine Conway

Jaime Moss

William Garrity

Kevin Cantele

Amy Raymond

Aidan Gilligan

Farley Santos

Bankwell Heidi DeWyngaert will retire at the end of the year. Kevin Nodell joined as vice president, C&I relationship manager.

Darwin Montenegro joined as assistant vice president, branch manager.

Chelsea Groton Bank Greg Curtis joined as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Jessica Charette, Maria Grenier, Stephanie Han, Dorothy Houde, Elizabeth Owen, Kimberly Sanders, and Jennifer Seuferling were awarded certificates by The Center for Financial Training. Susan Bailey, Kristen Brunelle, Jessica Charette, Jennifer Gagne, Jean McGran, Elizabeth Owen, Amy Prince, Allison Silva, Madison Stepnoski, LizeAnne Steward and Lisa Lamphere were awarded "First in Class" certificates by The Center for Financial Trainining. Luisanna Cabrera joined as a mortgage specialist Leslie McKillip joined as vice president and commercial loan officer. John Banks joined as assistant vice president, retail lending operations manager.

James O'Leary

Ryan Diamond

David Farrell

Collinsville Savings Society Jane Anderson was promoted to senior vice president, commercial lender.

Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank David Stone joined as first vice president, senior commercial loan officer.

Essex Savings Bank

Geoffrey Jacobson was recognized as a 2019 Distinguished Citizen Honoree by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.

Tom Linder was the top fundraiser at the Valley Shore YMCA's Spin-A-Thon collecting $4,415 from 96 donors.

First County Bank Maria Bivona was promoted to assistant vice president. Ben Peter was promoted to assistant vice president. Karen Chavez was promoted to assistant vice president.

Guilford Savings Bank Michelle Mongillo was promoted to assitant branch manager. Nancy Gerson was promoted to relationship development specialist. Christopher Hartmann was promoted to relationship development 22

specialist. Michael Fiano joined as a mortgage originator. Stephanie Atsales joined as assistant branch manager. Jen Corradi joined as a relationship development specialist. Priscilla Disciglio was promoted to assistant branch manager.

Ion Bank Kelly Smith joined as assistant vice president, human resource business partner.

Jewett City Savings Bank Amanda Brycki and Wayne Jolley were elected as new corporators.

KeyBank James Barger was appointed market president and commercial sales leader for the Connecticut/Massachusetts market.

Liberty Bank Kari Jonikas was promoted to senior vice president, human resource manager.

(Correction from 2Q2019 issue) Litchfield Bancorp

James O'Leary retired after serving on the Board of Directors for 28 years.

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Bob Peckham

Eric Schwab

Antonella Calabrese

Sam LaRosa

Jennifer Silva

Newtown Savings Bank Rhonda McEwen-Thompson was promoted to assistant vice president, manager of employee relations and talet acquisition.

Meghan Krebs was promoted to first vice president and chief credit officer.

Robert Capobianco was promoted to first vice president - asset quality manager.

Renee Metzger joined as vice president retail lending loan operations manager.

Christine Conway joined as deposit operations and electronic banking manager.

Jaime Moss joined as first vice president, human resources and is a member of the management committee.

Martin Geitz

Kim Brown

Bernadeta Eichner

David Onofrio

Cindy Harmon

Stephen Lewis

Linda Lydem

Regional Hospice. Sam LaRosa joined as a mortgage loan originator.

Simsbury Bank Martin Geitz was awarded its annual Distinguished Chamber Member Award by the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.

Bernadeta Eichner was a featured speaker at the Farmington Valley YMCA's Women's Day.

Thomaston Savings Bank Stephen Lewis was elected as President of the Connecticut Community Bankers Association. Susan Sadecki received the United Way of West Central Connecticut's Spirit of Caring Award during the Northwest Community Bank Community Builder's Reception. James William Garrity was elected to the board of Murdick was promoted to chief loan officer. directors.

Eric Schwab joined as vice president, senior operations officer. Antonella Calabrese was Salisbury Bank & Trust Company recently hired by the bank.

Kevin Cantele was promoted to vice president, mortgage advisor. Ryan Diamond was promoted to assistant vice president, commercial credit manager. David Farrell Boxwood Means was appointed chairman of the board.

Boxwood Means was named a "Top Finance Amy Raymond was named executive vice Influencer" for its innovative services in the president, chief retail banking officer and small-cap CRE market by CRE by Real Estate CRA officer. Aidan Gilligan assumed Forum magazine. commercial lending responsibilities.

COCC Elizabeth Summerville was named COCC was recognized as one of three executive vice president, chief retail and loan Connecticut companies receiving the 2019 operations officer.

Well-Being Award for having passion and

Lynn Cossette

Jennifer Tomaino

Union Savings Bank Sheila Anne Denton, Tom Hinman, Heather DaSilva and Anthony Rizzo were appointed as corporators. Cindy Harmon volunteered with the Northwest Conservation District at their Annual Earth day plant sale at the Goshen Fair Grounds. Linda Lydem and Lynn Cossette shared their personal experiences at the First Career Fair hosted

by Lewis S. Mills High School and Junior Achievement of Southwest New England and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of continued on next page

of two new locations in Westport and Springfield.

PW Campbell Tyler Rathvon joined as the newest regional vice president in the sales department.

Tyler Rathvon

Solidus Alan DeToma has joined Solidus as executive vice president of sales and marketing.

investment in employee health. Metro Credit Union has selected COCC as its core provider.

Pullman & Comley Pullman & Comley annouced their opening Alan DeToma

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James Murdick

Torrington Savings Bank Jennifer Silva joined as vice president, marketing. Kim Brown graduated from the ABA Stonier School of Banking. David Onofrio joined as vice president, commercial loan officer.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Savings Bank of Danbury Farley Santos spoke to over 80 students at Henry Abbott Technical High School's Career Day. Bob Peckham was the Master of Ceremonies at the Shamrock Breakfast for

Susan Sadecki

u

Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Sarah Shopey & Bobbi Jo Klug

Julio Figueroa

Susan Kiddy

Godiva Cadena

Christina Michael-Cole

Tim Warner

Chris Nardone

Theresa Kozikowski

Charlene Faselle

Mary-Lynne Kinney

Janice Kelley

Luke Kettles

Jeffrey Karam

Commerce. Jennifer Tomaino was honored by the Danbury Schools and Business Collaborative for her five years of mentoring at the local schools. Sarah Shopey and Bobbi Jo Klug graduated from the Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program.

Godiva Cadena received the Fairfield County "40 Under 40" Award. Christina MichaelCole shared lunch with the students at Stadley Rough Elementary School, standing together in support of No One Eats Alone. Tim Warner donated a wheelchair to a customer with mobility limitations.

United Bank Chris Nardone was ranked #25 out of 100 top program managers by Bank Investment Consultant.

Bank of America sponsored the exhibit The Beyond, Georgia O'Keefe and Contemporary Art at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

Webster Bank, N.A.

Theresa Kozikowski was named director of human resources, enabling functions and employee relations.

Windsor Federal Savings Diane Crosby was promoted to first vice president and controller. Julio Figueroa was one of eight bankers selected by the ABA out of over 300 nominations from across the country to be featured in an emerging bank leaders video. Gregg Scalia joined as a consumer administration officer. Julio Figueroa was promoted to security officer. Susan Kiddy was promoted to communications officer. Charlene Faselle joined as vice president, credit

Bank of America employees completed nearly 2,000 volunteer hours with non-profit organizations in Greater Hartford during Global Service Month and helped Camp Courant prepare for its 125th summer of free summer camp.

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Julio Figueroa

Dale Leifert

Gregg Scalia

Maureen Sullivan

Michael Grandfield

analysis manager. Mary-Lynne Kinney was promoted to senior executive vice president, chief operating officer. Janice Kelley was promoted to executive vice president, human resources and corporate communications. Luke Kettles was promoted to executive vice president, chief loan officer.

Jeffrey Karam was promoted to chief information officer. Dale Leifert was promoted to first vice president, deposit operations. Maureen Sullivan was promoted to first vice president, retail operations. Winston Blake was promoted to first vice president, credit administration. Michael Grandfield was promoted to first vice president, commercial lending. u

Bank of America was the presenting sponsor for Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness' 17th Annual Training Institute with Governor Lamont addressing over 550 attendees.

continued on next page

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Chelsea Groton Foundation presented 16 rising college students from area high schools with scholarships.

Bank of America's LEAD for Women participated in the Hartford Habitat for Humanity's Annual Women's Build.

Bankwell donated $15,000 to Filling in the Blanks to purchase a new delivery truck which will allow the organization to increase the amount of weekend meals they can deliver to children in need.

Bank of America employees participated in Junior Achievement's "JA in a Day" at the Fred D. Wish School in Hartford.

Chelsea Groton Bank earned another 5-star rating from BauerFinancial, now for over 100 consecutive quarters.

Bankwell donated $7,500 to support the Cathy Kangas Foundation bringing awareness to the homeless pets in the community and finding them furever homes.

Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank participated in the Killingly SpringFest.

Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank participated in "Uniting for United" Competitive Food Drive to benefit the Gemma E. Moran Food Bank.

Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank Guilford Mortgage Center held its ribbon cutting.

Chelsea Groton Bank is celebrating 165 years of serving the community with Pay it Forward Day, Acts of Kindness, and Feel Good About Your Bank Day. Bankwell announced the re-launch of its Pet Adoption Project.

Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank participated in the "Star Wars" themed Jewett City Night Light Parade.

Essex Savings Bank's Chester Branch held its fifth annual shred event bringing nearly 150 people along with 50 bags of food for the Chester Food Pantry.

Bankwell donated $7,500 to the Carver Foundation of Norwalk to fund the gymnasium enhancements needed to expand the Carver basketball programs.

Chelsea Groton Foundation awarded over $182,000 in grants to area organizations this spring including a grant to Hygenic Art, Inc.

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Essex Savings Bank Old Saybrook branch collected non perishable food and donated a portion of the 6,000 pounds to the Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Ion Bank Foundation announced the winners of its 10th Annual Community Awards Program at a special ceremony awarding grants totaling over $68,700 to 170 local non-profit organizations.

Essex Savings Bank committed $132,000 to their 24th Annual Community Investment Program.

First County Bank was a sponsor of the 4th Annual Weston-Westport Chamber of Commerce Dog Festival in Westport.

Essex Savings Bank staff volunteered their evening to support the Community Music School's fundraising gala.

Ion Bank Foundation donated $5,000 to New Horizons, Inc. First County Bank participated as a Silver Sponsor for the Annual Hope in Motion Run & Walk with more than 2,500 participants.

Essex Savings Bank hosted a free First Time Home Buyer Seminar.

Ion Bank Foundation awarded the Boys and Girls Club of Meridan $4,000 for their "Project Learn" program.

First County Bank announced three student received the $5,000 Richard E. Taber Citizenship Award scholarship.

Jewett City Savings Bank employees participated in a community clean-up day to celebrate Earth Day.

First County Bank hosted a Shred Day in Westport.

First County Bank announced the winners of FirstPrize $avings Account $1,000 drawing.

Jewett City Savings Bank employees assisted with the United Way Mobile Food Pantry.

First County Bank presented at the Women in the Know Conference hosted by Moffly Media.

Ion Bank presented a $2,205 check to the Cheshire Community Food Pantry from their Quotes for A Cause program.

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KeyBank was ranked #36 on Diversity Inc's Top 50 Companies list.

KeyBank joined the Business Coalition for Equality Act.

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

KeyBank announced $7.1 billion in community investments across its 15-state footprint over the past two years.

KeyBank was recognized as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States

by Points of Light.

Newtown Savings Bank presented a check to Newtown Friends of Seniors for proceeds raised during a community shred day.

Savings Bank of Danbury presented the Henry Abbott Technical High School Baseball Varsity Team Captains with a donation on behalf of the bank.

KeyBank Foundation assisted The WorkPlace Inc. with its American Job Center Career Coach.

People's United Bank Community Foundation presented an $11,000 grant to The CT Coalition to End Homelessness.

The Savings Bank of Danbury team from 314 Danbury Road volunteered at Faith Church in New Milford for the Connecticut Food Bank.

KeyBank mentors and their mentees from Hillhouse High School visited the WTNH-TV8 studio.

Salisbury Bank and Trust Company announced the recipients of its 10th Annual Scholarship Program.

Savings Bank of Danbury attended the DSABC Breakfast.

Salisbury Bank & Trust Company continued its initative to fight against identity theft while building community good will by sponsoring their Free Shred Event and Food Drive.

KeyBank employees volunteered around the state as a part of the bank's 29th Annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day. Litchfield Bancorp kicked off the summer with a new local Cash Mob held at Maletta Pfeiffer & Associates.

Litchfield Bancorp ramped up their ongoing series of local Cash Mob events at Jules Salon in Watertown.

Salisbury Bank and Trust Company announced its 2019 Annual Time to Shine Scholarship Program with multiple scholarships awarded up to $1,500.

Salibury Bank and Trust Company offered a free seminar on starting your own business.

Salibury Bank and Trust Company offered a free seminar on buying your first home and on credit scores.

Savings Bank of Danbury employees visited Families Network of Western Connecticut and delivered 43 spring buddy baskets.

Savings Bank of Danbury was the presenting sponsor at the Ann’s Place breakfast.

Newtown Savings Bank presented a $2,000 scholarship donation to the students of the Advanced Manufacturing Program at Housatonic Community College.

Savings Bank of Danbury hosted a booth at the Oxford Senior Center Wellness Fair.

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Saving Bank of Danbury's New Fairfield branch registered 87 children at the annual Amber Alert event.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Savings Bank of Danbury supported the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals Council.

Savings Bank of Danbury employees participated in a bowl-a-thon for the American Cancer Society.

Savings Bank of Danbury commercial lending and community development managers participated in a Team Building project for Ann's Place.

Savings Bank of Danbury ranked in the Top 50 Employee Giving Campaigns for the United Way of Greater Waterbury and celebrated at the UWGW Awards Dinner.

Simsbury Bank sponsored Hartford Stage's Financial Literacy Program that is part of the Stage's "Connections" residency with Bloomfield's Carmen Arace Intermediate School's 5th grade class.

Simsbury Bank held a free document shred day.

Simsbury Bank was the presenting sponsor of HillStead Museum's 2019 May Market with a $10,000 sponsorship donation.

Savings Bank of Danbury sponsored a free SCORE workshop where aspiring business owners learned about opening their own business for free.

Savings Bank of Danbury participated in a realtor caravan.

Savings Bank of Danbury is celebrating its 170th anniversary this year.

Simsbury Bank sponsored Bloomfield's Carmen Arace Middle School Golf Team.

Start Community Bank was an Earthly Sponsor of Solar Youth's 2019 Solar Jam Benefit Party.

Start Community Bank was a sponsor of The City of New Haven Mayor's Veterans Affairs Annual Concert of Patriotic Music on Memorial Day weekend.

Savings Bank of Danbury had a great turnout for the annual March of Dimes event.

Start Community Bank was a Literary Sponsor and employees joined in the competition at the Literacy Volunteers Scrabble Challenge.

Start Community Bank was a Bronze Sponsor of the Mary Wade 2019 Wine Dinner.

Savings Bank of Danbury participated in Casual for A Cause Day and donated to the American Heart Association.

Simsbury Bank donated $2,500 to the Farmington Valley YMCA for the "Bike for the Battle" and the Granby Road Race.

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Start Community Bank was a Community Change Agent Sponsor of Clifford Beers Builders of Hope Breakfast 2019.

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Thomaston Savings Bank was voted Best Bank to Get a Mortgage in the 2019 Bristol Press Reader's Poll.

The Union Savings Bank 2nd Annual Community Fair was once again well received by employees and community partners.

Union Savings Bank newly hired team members learned about Danbury Youth Services and worked together to assemble new bicycles to be awarded to children who participate in the many programs offered.

Thomaston Savings Bank broke ground on their newest branch location in Farmington.

Thomaston Savings Bank received several regional and statewide awards during the 2019 Banking Choice Awards program including Best in Connecticut for Overal Quality and Technology & Tools, Community Contribution, and Overall Quality.

Union Savings Bank employees teamed up with Junior Achievement of Greater Fairfield County to celebrate "Teach Children to Save Day" at Whisconier Middle School in honor of National Financial Literacy Month.

Union Savings Bank sponsored a Save-A-Suit event for those neighbors preparing to get back into the workforce after completing their military duty in honor of Military Appreciation Month.

Union Savings Bank hosted young artists in the annual Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority Recycling Billboard Contest.

Union Savings Bank joined the United Way of Western Connecticut and the Connecticut Food Bank at their monthly Mobile Food Pantry providing much needed food to their neighbors.

Union Savings Bank came together to volunteer and attend a breakfast to welcome UCONN fans in support of Ann's Place Breakfast with SNY.

Union Savings Bank volunteers participated at the Torrington High School 10th Annual Financial Reality Fair, assisting students with hands-on budgeting activities.

Union Savings Bank Canton Solutions Team sorted close to 8,000 pounds of food while volunteering at Foodshare.

Union Savings Bank Monroe Solutions Team hosted a Shred-It Day in April, unloaded boxes of sensitive documents, and thanked each participant for their donations of Teachers' Closet school supplies.

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Union Savings Bank's Teacher Closet delivered to Morris Street School.

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Connecticut Banking Magazine • Third Quarter 2019

Union Savings Bank together with The Tiny Miracles Foundation cut and tied 20 blankets that will be gifted to parents of preemies at local hospitals in honor of Kangaroo Care Day.

Union Savings Bank spotlighted a few of the many volunteers who gave back to the community in honor of National Volunteer Week.

Union Savings Bank, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Danbury, presented two Western Connecticut Scholarships.

Union Savings Bank team members wore jeans on Nation Denim Day to support The Women's Center of Greater Danbury, Jane Doe No More and the Susan B. Anthony Project to bring awareness to sexual violence and to promote education and prevention.

Union Savings Bank

BOOK DRIVE

Union Savings Bank supports The Southbury Needy Fund year round.

Union Savings Bank celebrated Portuguese history, culture and traditions on Portuguese Day.

OF READING Donate your new and gently used children’s books at one of our branches…

JUNE 3 – 21

Union Savings Bank launched its 4th Annual Share the Love of Reading book drive with donations being accepted at all locations which will then be donated thoughout their community.

Union Savings Bank team members were excited to participate in Read Across America Day and Share Our Love of Reading with Morris Street School.

Union Savings Bank donated three shiny new bikes to Danbury Youth Services.

Union Savings Bank participated in the annual Day of Action with USB volunteers at the STEM Street Fair and Mobile Food Pantry in Danbury, as well as Girl Scout Camp Candlewood in New Fairfield.

Union Savings Bank employees participated in the 8th Annual Ride/Walk for Children to benefit PCRC at the Quarry Walk in Oxford.

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Union Savings Bank team volunteered at the United Way of Northwest CT "Day of Caring".

Union Savings Bank team members arrived at a recent corporate meeting with hundreds of pounds of food items to be shared within the community.

Third Quarter 2019 • Connecticut Banking Magazine

Washington Trust collected 3.4 tons of peanut butter for the 19th Annual Peanut Butter Drive benefiting area food pantries.

Union Savings Bank spend an impactful evening at the 10th Annual Jane Doe No More Gala in support of a cause whose mission is education and prevention of sexual assault.

United Bank Foundation announced their annual academic scholarships and vocational awards totaling $61,250 to 31 area high school and vocational students graduating in 2019.

United Bank participated in an annual Connecticut walk for brain aneurysm awareness.

Westfield Bank annouced it will be opening two new offices in the greater Hartford area in late 2019 and early 2020.

Windsor Federal Savings was the main sponsor of Suffield Firefighter's Association Paul Simison Memorial Run.

United Bank Foundation presented its 2019 Academic Scholarship Awards in April.

United Bank employees participated in CBIA's Business Summit at the State Capitol.

Windsor Federal Savings employees joined forces with Windsor PD to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics CT by being an Adopt-A-Town sponsor and running in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.

United Bank employees participated in the Boys & Girls Club of Hartford's Fulfilling Our Promise Gala.

United Bank presented a $5,000 check to the Bushnell Park Foundation for their 2019 Summer Solstice event.

Windsor Federal Savings held its bi-annual community Shred Day event, with record-breaking amounts of shredded documents as well as food and cash collected for Windosr Food & Fuel Bank.

United Bank Foundation contributed $10,000 to the CT Science Center during the Company's annual meeting.

The United Bank team participated in the Sole Sister's Luncheon.

Windsor Federal Savings hosted a reception for its High School Bankers Program for incoming interns and graduating students.

Windsor Federal Savings branches hosted local children for Teach Children to Save Day.

United Bank Foundation donated $10,000 to the Interval House.

United Bank Foundation supported the Perrenial Garden Club of Manchester's Garden Tour.

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